Triple Caution
by ThunderHawk14
Summary: For Josh and his Umbreon life's unpredictable. One day they're living the life and then the next they're working for one of the largest criminal organizations in the United States. AU. Rated M just to keep it on the safe side, Mostly swearing and violence. Any feedback is appreciated.
1. Life

**So I did it again… More rewrites! This time I actually have four chapters and I'm going to put two up today and the others tomorrow. If you guys like it please tell me! A review or PM is appreciated with any constructive criticism or whatever! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: Life**

Oh I fucked up big now. I was being chased by three seniors out to my rusty Pontiac; unlocking it furiously as I ran. My name's Josh. I was your typical 18 year old high school student living in Jackson, Michigan. I wasn't in shape but I was skinny. I had dark brown hair and wore glasses. I wasn't the type to get into this type of situation but I guess life's unpredictable.

It wasn't much to set these guys off. The only thing I did was witness a drug deal and they got scared that I would snitch. I flung the car door open but that's as far as I got. I was nailed across the cheek with a right hook. I staggered and retaliated with my own that made good solid contact. I backed away from my car and kept trying to defend myself from punches that they were throwing. One would try to throw a punch, I would try my best to dodge or block it (or at least not get hit in the face) and try to hit my attacker with my own before they backed off. Eventually they got smart and they all rushed me. I got knocked down and was beaten until they got bored. Once they left I was bloody, out of breath, and reluctant to move.

I just laid there for a while reflecting about the whole thing. I don't know how long it was until I decided to get up but I stopped by a gas station to pick up a drink and a Powerball ticket before driving back to my house in the ghetto. Burglary and assault was usually as bad as it got around here but it was a common occurrence. I really hated it and I know one day we'll get out of here. I lived in a single story house that was a bit smaller than a house in the suburbs but perfectly average for the area I lived in right now. I pulled up in front of our garage and walked into the house.

I opened the door and threw my bag up on the counter. While I was taking my shoes off Shadow, my Umbreon, came up the stairs to the basement where my room was.

He looked at me disapprovingly and shook his head, "What did you do, Josh?" he sighed.

I explained to him what happened, "Well, i'm sorry Josh, I feel bad for you."

Shadow, at least physically, was just an Umbreon. He was covered in a thick midnight black fur, had a set of deep red eyes that gave me chills when I first saw them, and the bright yellow rings on his fur that glowed in the moonlight. He had a great sense of humor, loved sarcasm, and could take a joke better than most people I knew. He always tried to find the best of a situation and tried to be polite to everybody. He was a Christmas gift from my parents from my mom 10 years ago when my parents were still together as an Eevee. He was always there to look out for me like the brother I never had. I still feel this way today. He evolved when I was 12 and I gave him the name Shadow.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked.

"I'll feel it in the morning but I'm okay for now. You still want go to the park?"

"Yeah!" I grabbed a basketball and we headed out. The park wasn't anything special, just a field with a fence around it where some run down houses used to be.

"How's about we work on psychic?" I told him.

"Sounds good to me!" he shouted. He had worked his way across the field got ready. I tossed the ball high into the air. It came down a few feet in front of Shadow and he rushed to catch it. The ball was enveloped in a blue aura and levitated near Shadow whose eyes were glowing a bright light blue. He used his mind to launch the ball straight back towards me. I caught it with my chest; the impact took the breath straight out of me and I threw the ball violently back at my friend. This time instead of catch it he used protect. A turquoise shield expanded around him and the ball bounced off harmlessly leaving water-like ripples on the shield.

We trained like this a few times a week depending on how we're feeling. Back in 2000 when Pokemon first started appearing in the United States 13 people who loved Pokemon decided to start the American Pokemon League or APL. They had 8 gyms in 8 major cities all over the country and the league finals were held just outside New York City. It's been Shadow's dream to try and participate in this and i've always been there to try and help him along the way. We probably would never have the opportunity to do it but if we could afford it I'd love to see Shadow's strength for real.

This went on for a couple hours. The two of us were exhausted. We walked home admiring the sunset that was partially hidden by the houses. We got home and I sat down on the couch to watch some TV before going to bed. I flipped on the news and Shadow rested his head on my lap.

Most of the stories were boring, stupid, and for the most part nothing was important. The news ended and they showed winning lottery numbers. I paused it there and fished out my wallet.

"Did you really buy a ticket, Josh?"

Shadow hated the lottery. I tried to laugh it off, "Hey man, maybe we'll get lucky for once."

Shadow rolled his eyes and shook his head. I alternated from looking at the screen and the ticket lining up the numbers. They were a perfect match. Wut. I frantically looked up and down making sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. They weren't. I looked under the numbers on screen to see how much money I had just won. 506 million. _**Are you fucking kidding me.**_

I held the ticket in front of Shadow, "Read."

"Why? We lost anyways what's the point." He read it anyways, his eyes darting from the ticket to the TV and back again.

His eyes went wide, "You've gotta be joking. Are you for real?!"

I smiled and in an instant we were jumping up and down, yelling, and just having a good time. Our lives turned around in an instant.

"Shadow,",I started, "this is the last fucking night we spend in this fuckin house. After tonight, our new lives begin."

"Fuck yes!"

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**This is a short chapter. Most of them will be around three to four thousand words. It was more of an introduction to the story.**


	2. A Fresh Start

Here's chapter two for you guys! Please if you enjoy it leave a review to let me know what you think of it so far!

Chapter 2: A Fresh Start

It was July now, a little bit over 6 months after Shadow and I had our lives changed for good. Somehow we managed to be the only winners and we got all that money to ourselves. We bought a house a few miles out of Jonesville, Mi with a few acres of land that sat next to a small lake. The house was just a single story red brick house that was maybe a tiny bit larger than anyother family home in the world. Our living room came with a panoramic window that replaced most of the wall so you could see out over the lake anytime you wanted to. It was my personal favorite room of the house. Being a car guy, however, what was really special was the massive garage I set up across the road.

It was only a bit smaller than my house, maybe 100 or so square feet. It had heat and air conditioning, white concrete floors, an incredibly soft shag carpeted living area with a black metal coffee table and 2 plush black sofas at the back so we could hang out around the cars. Along the sides there was tons of tools and tables for some extra work area and I now had the ability to work on my own stuff.

Right now I only had 6 cars, 5 of which were in the big garage and one at the house. In the garage they were set up in 2 rows of 3 facing each other. They were parked so that each car could be driven in between the other row and out the garage door down at the end. I definitely planned on buying more in the near future.

I participated in street and organized races whenever I could with Shadow. I thought I had gotten pretty good at it, at least against the crowds I went against in town. I like to think that it was the track days i've participated in that helped me develop skills that I needed to be a better successful street racer but it was really just a lot of trial and error, finding out new techniques as I go. I'd competed in some amatuer rally events as well, which went worse than expected. Shadow as a co-driver, that was actually a mistake that we both could agree on. He couldn't flip the pages of the pace notes that we'd taken… Didn't think that one through. On asphalt however I was much better and almost always competitive. I didn't win everything but I tried every time I went out to bring home a victory. On to the cars!

(If you don't care about what cars are there in the garage you can skip this part)

The first car I bought was a 2016 Mazda MX-5 in red. I put a white rollcage into it and took the cloth roof out to save weight. My friends and I swapped in the rotary from an RX-8 and supercharged it to help it get some extra grunt on the straights and get the center of gravity lower in the car. We put a pair of canards that I had professionally installed on each side of the front and rear bumper, a front splitter, and an extremely big, probably a bit overkill, rear wing that came up only to about three fourths of where the back window would usually be to give the car tons of extra downforce. The interior was fully stripped complete with racing seats and harnesses to keep us in one place. We fit 265's all around and put on O.Z. Superturismo LM rims in black. The tires were too wide for the small car so we added some fender flares to make sure no rubber was sticking out. The last thing we did to it was put it on race coilovers and upgrade the brakes. The car was mostly used for track days that Shadow and I had gone to around the country. Places like Laguna Seca, Virginia International Raceway, and Willow Springs. It was a fun time just running around the track for hours with other people who share your same passion.

Next up was my daily driver and also the car that I parked in the house's small garage, an Audi RS6 Avant. I've always had a soft spot for wagons. It was a metallic gunmetal gray that worked well with the black HRE FF01 wheels that gave the car a meaner, more serious look than if it was standard. Other than that it was stock.

Going from my daily to my dedicated off road machine. A 1969 Camaro SS, or a steel tube frame with a 1969 Camaro body on it, but whatever. it was lifted up so the extra soft suspension that allowed us to have 20 inches of suspension travel in the front and rear. We put black rims on it with a vibrant light blue with a large white offset stripe. The fenders on the body were massively flared to fit the widest, most aggressive 39" tires I could find. We put a light bar on the top of it that was basically a portable sun and a bullbar on the front that held 4 more round lights. Up front there was an engine that would be more at home on a NASCAR that produced as near as makes no difference 900hp. We slapped a spare tire on the back and it looked like a car that could take on the Dakar Rally. The interior was stripped to the bone with electronic gauges fit for an LMP car and no windshield. It was of course 4wd and it was lighter than we expected coming in at just under 3200 pounds. It was an absolute monster on the road and the dunes.

The Lexus LFA was next in line. It wasn't the first car that I bought but it was the first car I truly fell in love with. Arguably my favorite car ever made. The classic FR setup that gave the car a certain look that set it apart from the rest of the supercar crowd. The all carbon fiber body was painted bright white that looked stunning with the factory black wheels. Everything about this car made me happy. From the air intake between the grill and the bumper all the way back to the exhaust which was set up in a triangle group for symmetry. The engine, that V10. The F1 inspired noise was just so evil and intimidating. It gives me chills every time I hear it and just thinking about it makes my hair stand up. It has that perfect note, if you held a wine glass up to the exhaust you could break it with the sound alone. I didn't dare modify it, you can't improve upon perfection.

The one that stood out the most to me had to the 1965 Mini Cooper rally car. It was red and I put the British flag on the roof because why not. It was relatively stock besides some modernization to the suspension, cooling system, and a new exhaust system. It was front wheel drive but was very nimble and fun to drive on the twisty roads that surrounded my house and the one rally that I competed in. (Never again)

Last but not least I bought a LaFerrari in Yellow with (I bet you're noticing a pattern) black factory rims. It was my favorite of the holy trinity and I liked having it in the garage just so I can say that I own one. A car so meticulously designed to be aerodynamic and beautiful at the same time is something i'm definitely willing to spend my money on.

(If you skipped the cars this is the end)

Even with all of this new stuff I don't think we've changed. I still go to school, dress modestly, and respect other people just like I always have. The only thing different I did was drive a good car to school. Shadow definitely hadn't changed a bit besides him starting to wear a white bandana around his neck. We were definitely given a second chance and I'm very grateful that luck was on our side for once.

This all doesn't come without its negatives of course. One of the major ones was people started treating me way different than before. I was someone who just sort of blended into the crowd; now they make me the center of attention. I know why they're doing this. They're trying to take advantage of me for their personal gain. People like that make me sick, there's no reason to use me as a stepping stone to try and get ahead in life.

The only person i've spent money on was Caleb. He's been my best (human) friend for the last 8 years and we made a pact back when we were in middle school that if one of us got rich we would buy the other their dream car. That's exactly what I did. Mine was the Lexus LFA, which you know that I already own, and Caleb's was the Maserati GranCabrio. The one I got him specifically was snow white with factory black rims and had a black leather interior. It was fast but it wasn't ridiculous and was more suited for long distance cruises. When I gave it to him he didn't have any words until after he got away from it. He didn't think that I'd still remember the pact we made and he was ecstatic that I held true to my word.

It was Thursday and Shadow and I had just gotten home from a drive in the MX-5. I pulled it into its parking space and we both chilled out in the garage. I worked on some writing that I was having some fun with and Shadow made corrections and suggestions as he watched me. We were lazy until it was time for dinner. I went down to the house to make a couple of sandwiches and came back up to the garage. Shadow devoured the meal I placed in front of him while I just kind of sat there wondering how a Pokémon could eat that fast.

The sun was beginning to set and I checked my watch, 8 o'clock. I told Shadow, "Hey it's getting kind of late, you want to head back?"

"Sure, why not."

We both got up, I grabbed my laptop, and headed towards the door. Someone started pounding on it. Not just a simple 'i've been knocking on the door for a while' type of pound but the type of pounding the police will do on the door when they find out where you live. I was hesitant but I needed to go out there anyways. I grabbed the knob and looked back at Shadow. He seemed nervous and didn't want me to open it but he knew I had too.

It only opened a crack before the door was kicked open. I was shoved onto the ground by someone who was incredibly strong. I had no idea what was happening. I was disorientated by what had happened and I was just now looking around. There were three men and 2 Zoroarks. The men were all wearing very clean black suits that made them look very professional. They all had guns, including the Pokémon, an M4 or something along those lines. 3 of them were pointing their guns at us while the others were busy restraining us. I didn't even notice I was tied up until I tried to get up and my hands wouldn't move. They didn't tie Shadow up; the guy just kind of knelt down over him to force him to lie down. I was starting to yell for help and trying to get up, I got kicked in the stomach and I fell back down to the ground out of breath.

"What do you want from me?!" ,I yelled at them desperately.

A voice came from the outside of the building, "I just want to talk."

An older gentlemen came into the garage. His hair was well taken care of and almost white. The man also wore a similar suit as his buddies but without the gloves. His face was wrinkled but not majorly, he was probably in his late 50's. He was pretty short compared to his goons and he had a smug look plastered on his face

"Hello, Josh." ,His voice was soft.

I shouted back, "What do you want!"

He sat down next to me, "Like I said, I just want to talk."

I was getting pissed off now, "No! Get the fuck out of here! How do you even know my name!"

He kept going like he never heard me, "My name's Victor and I'm the boss of an organization called the Vipers. We do mostly drug smuggling and things of that nature to major cities around the United States."

I was confused, "W-Why are you telling me this?"

"Well, my associates and I need someone with decent driving skills to run drugs for us since our last two drivers ran off with $10 million worth of cocaine. Don't worry, they're dead. You're probably wondering what driving skills you posses that leads a criminal organization to your front door step! We have eyes everywhere, Josh. Those street races you enter? We run those, we use them for recruiting purposes. You do well in every race, obviously that counts for something. We're a bit desperate if I'm honest."

Well that was a great confidence builder. I was in total shock. I was racing against the mafia? What the fuck did I just get us into, "You want me to drive for the mafia? No fucking way, let us go!"

He laughed quietly, "Well why not, Josh? I know you'd love it. At first you won't even be driving, that comes later."

I took a deep breath. My mind was filled with so many thoughts that I couldn't keep up with what was going on.

I finally found my voice and shot back, "No! Fuck off! I'm not a criminal!"

"Well if you don't want to come along maybe this will help you make a decision." ,Victor pulled out a revolver and loaded up one round in the chamber. I was starting to sweat and shake uncontrollably, this was the end. He spun the cylinder and proceeded to walk past me and towards Shadow.

"Maybe we play a game, hm? Three rounds of russian roulette here with your Umbreon here and then we leave? Sound good?"

I started pleading with them and talking fast, "Wait, what? Why? Stop no stop! I'll do it, stop! PLEASE!"

Shadow slammed his eyes shut and braced himself. He started yelling at Victor with more confidence than I knew he actually had, "Do it! Do it, faggot! JUST FUCKING DO IT!"

I tried to protest but my cries for it all to stop were ignored and Victor pulled the trigger. The revolver made a metallic click and rotated to the next chamber. I was relieved but that only lasted for a second as he spun the cylinder again and raised the gun again.

I couldn't let this go on "STOP," I yelled, "You win."

"Josh, no what're you doing! We can't do this!"

Victor pulled the gun off of Shadow's head and I yelled to him, "I won't let them kill you, Shadow! I don't care about what I have to do. You're my family. I-I can't lose you…" Tears started to fall down my cheek and Victor knelt down close to me.

"So, do we have a deal?", He hissed almost directly in my ear.

"Y-Yes."

Victor smiled and put his hands up, "Untie him!"

One of the Zoroarks happily used his claw to get rid of the cable tie that held my arms in place. I stood up and ran over to Shadow. I picked him up and held him close to my chest. I was shaking and still about to cry but Shadow was shaking worse than I was, "I'm sorry…" I whispered to him.

"You two about done? We've got work to do now!" Victor shouted brightly. We were escorted down to their cars and we were put in the backseat. Someone had grabbed the Miata keys and followed us closely as they drove us east. The drive took an absurd amount of time. I felt like they were taking a deliberately long route to confuse me. Not a single word was said until we were almost there.

I had to be the one to stop the awkward silence, "So what am I doing again?"

Victor seemed to be broken out of a trance but he regained his composure in no time, "Well first of all you weren't the only person we recruited for this type of work; we actually have three more making you the fourth. Since we only accept the best of the best we hold a race where the top two get the position."

I saw my way out, "What if I come third or fourth?"

He pointed his gun at me and I got the message. So much for that plan…

I still didn't understand this whole thing, "So let me get this straight. I'm now competing against 3 other guys you picked up and 2 of them are going to die? Why didn't you just pick one of them or just me? Why the race?"

Victor laughed, "Where's the fun in that?"

I actually started to recognize my surroundings. We were in Detroit of all places. I started looking around for the race start while we drove and I took a look ahead to see three cars in front of us lined up in a grid.

On the pole there was a blue R34 Nissan Skyline, it looked stock but I knew most Skyline owners don't just leave it like that. Next to that was a red Lamborghini Gallardo, I honestly wasn't worried about that one. A 1963ish Corvette that was also bright red was the final car on the impromptu grid. The tires on this thing were massive, at least 305's on the front and back. That was the car to beat in my opinion.

The man driving my car pulled up to the empty spot on the grid and got out. He went off to the side where some people had gathered to watch. The car we were in pulled up semi close to mine and I nervously walked to the Miata with Shadow. I opened the door for him, did up our harnesses, and got ready for what could be our final race. I was given a GPS with the race route and a radio so they could communicate with us. I set it up in the lower corner of my windshield so it wouldn't block my vision. I checked my phone, 3 in the morning, wow it was late. The pit in my stomach was eating away at me and the more time we sat here the bigger it got.

A very happy and attractive woman with black hair got up in front of us all and got ready to start the race. She pointed to us all to see if we were ready. When we all signalled that we were good to go she pulled a pistol out of her back pocket and held it high above her head. She counted on her fingers 3...2...1... and she fired into the air. What the fuck did I get myself into?


	3. Competition

**New name but it's still the same story!**

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**Chapter 3: Competition**

I stomped on the accelerator and was thrown back into the seat. The Skyline ahead of me got a better start thanks to its all wheel drive but my car stayed close behind. The Lamborghini slipped in behind the Corvette who was on my tail and filled my mirrors. The gps was barely audible over all of the engines but I was still able to hear it enough to know the route. We hit the first corner smoothly, it was all city blocks so most of the corners were tight and had curbs on each side. The Skyline made a risky move and cut the apex going over a small bit of the sidewalk where the pedestrians cross.

I had the power on the straights, but only just. I pulled next to the Skyline and was ready for the next right sweeper. Even though the Skyline had the better line I had the power and downforce to gain the advantage by the time we exited the corner. I fell back in line in front of the Skyline and focused on the road in front of me. There was a one mile straight bit before the next corner that I hoped I could use to gain a lead on the pack. The Corvette started edging on the Skyline and overtook him with relative ease; now he was bearing down on me. By the time we were door to door the next left turn that was extremely sharp, more than 90 degrees, was right in front of us. I slammed on the upgraded brakes and was thrown forward against the belts as we slowed down from over 140 mph. I deliberately slowed down more than I needed to and waited for the Corvette to go wide thanks to his bad line. Sure enough he went wide and I crossed over him and onto the inside. Thanks to my car's lightness and power I was able to out accelerate and overtake the Corvette. The next mile or so we were doing a series of corners that resembled a set of stairs. I tried to keep a rhythm the best I could but on the last "step" I may have got a bit of a lead foot and got the back end out. It ruined my momentum but I recovered and ended up in 2nd place behind the Skyline.

Victor's voice boomed in my car, "Lamborghini flipped somehow! What a dumbass!" I kept my focus but I felt bad for the unfortunate driver. The Skyline started blocking me. We both knew that the finish line was close and he tried his hardest to keep me behind him.I'd go outside, he'd go outside, I try to overtake, he'd cut me off. I was becoming impatient and the next corner was the last. It was another 90 degree left turn but after that was a straight line to the finish. I pulled up onto his rear quarter panel and tried to stay there as we went around the corner. Sure enough the Skyline tried to block me again but he didn't know that I was there. He lightly tapped the front of my car with his rear end and his back end started to kick out. You could tell that he was caught off guard by the violent jerk to the right that he made to correct the mistake. He went into the opposite lane of traffic and lost some of his speed creating a gap that the Corvette and I used to get around him with no problem. The more powerful Corvette began to pull on the straight and got right up on my door. He was ahead but I didn't care, I was second. Once the finish line was crossed I slowed down behind the Corvette and eventually stopped on the side of the road.

A wide smile crept over my lips and I started laughing to myself. I looked over at Shadow who had also started laughing and I gave him a pat on the head since I was still belted in.

"You did it! We're not dead!" ,He laughed.

I threw my belts off and reached over to Shadow to do the same for him, "Thanks, buddy. I thought this was the end for a minute."

Victor came over to the car and tapped on the windshield, "You did good kid, I'm expecting big things out of you! Why don't you meet the winner?"

I tried to tell myself that this wasn't happening but it definitely was. Our lives have been so fucked lately. First the money and now I was officially part of the Vipers, "Alright." _I don't know how to feel right now; should I be happy I got a job and didn't die? Maybe the new opportunities? But I guess I was a criminal now, right? What the hell is my life right now… _

I got out and held the door for Shadow. It closed with a dull thump and I walked quickly to meet the Corvette driver. He only now opened his door and got out. He stumbled on the way out and tried to compose himself before I started talking to him. He couldn't have been older than 30. He was tall compared to me, probably 6'4" and had a full head of black hair with a well trimmed beard of the same color. I could tell by the way he moved that he really didn't want to be here either.

"How's it goin'?" I asked politely, "Good race by the way, I had fun."

We shook hands, "I'm doing alright, how about yourself?" He had a bit of an English accent.

"I'm doing ok I guess, could be dead…"

He laughed and continued talking, "I guess so. So you mind me asking you how someone as young as you got wrapped up in all of this?"

"I was street racing in races apparently held by the mafia for '_recruiting purposes'_" ,I replied calmly, "How'd you end up here?"

"Well I was just asked really. They came knocking at my door, told me to show up, and here I am. Oh shit before I forget; my name's David."

"Josh," ,I gestured behind me to Shadow, "and this is Shadow." He just sort of waved nervously without saying a word. I could tell Shadow was still very uncomfortable with this whole thing.

Victor came up behind david and put a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned his head to face him, "So I see you guys are getting along ok. Let's go for a drive, we've got places to be."

I handed over my keys to the same man who drove my car here and David handed his to another. We all piled into the Audi that brought me here. Our driver drove us deeper into Detroit. We drove right along the coast of the Detroit River and headed down towards the Windsor Tunnel, or what connects Detroit to Ontario. Our car pulled up to the security checkpoint and our driver looked over into the. The security person seemed to have no problem that there was an assault rifle lying between the front seats. I wish I had a clue what was going on.

I think I had an idea, "Do those guys work for you?" I asked Victor.

"Not exactly but we paid them to let us use the tunnel and allow people who work for me in and out."

The car pulled over onto a driveway that jutted out from the main road of the tunnel in front of a fairly normal sized steel garage door. The driver fiddled around with some button in the center console and the door in front of us began to rise. Behind it was something I could've never have dreamed was in here. It was basically a factory, it was huge! There had to be at least 40 cars of all kinds in nice orderly lines with only just enough room on each side to get in and out. On the back wall there was another garage door where I watched a bright yellow Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series be pushed through. Victor had our driver stop and we were told to get out.

"So," Victor held his arms out wide, "What do you think?"

David was the first to reply, "I never knew this was here. How do you get away with it?"

"Lots and lots of money." ,Victor told him happily.

I asked him, "So are we going to get a tour or something like that?"

"Of course! Of course! Follow me."

He led us to the back of the garage and through the door where the Mercedes just left. There were men were hard at work taking apart the interiors of a couple of BMW M4's and stuffing them with large bags of what I assumed was cocaine.

"So," Victor started to explain, "Each car we buy for us gets its interior torn apart and 50 kilos of cocaine gets put into any and every hole possible to stuff as much in as we can. If it doesn't fit the rest of it will go in a special compartment that we install in each of the vehicles trunks underneath the carpet. Each car has a value of over 5 million dollars on top of what the car was _actually _worth. I could sell these cars to people and they would never know that they had a car with that much cocaine in it. I've personally been across the Mexican border with one and the drug dogs could obviously smell it was there but when they searched the car and me of course didn't tear it open to find all of it stashed away behind the door panels. It's a time consuming task but it's what helps us bring in the big bucks."

I was amazed by all of this, "Are all of those cars just there or are they-"

Victor interrupted me, "Yeah they're all filled with drug right now. A third of them will be gone tomorrow morning all going to wherever they're going and hopefully all returning with lots and lots of cash so we can fill them all back up again. Let me show you some more."

We walked through another door that led to a long white corridor with door ways on either side leading to different parts of the complex. We stopped in front of the first and he explained that down there was the dining hall. He turned around and pointed out the rooms where we would be staying when we needed to. Each door had a sign that read 'occupied' or 'vacant' so it was painfully obvious if someone was living there and a number on each door. I was curious what the rooms looked like so I walked down to a vacant room and poked my head through the door. The room was simply furnished with a bed and nightstand that had a lamp and alarm clock on it. There was a door on the left side of the room that probably led to the bathroom. There was an armchair on the right side of the room next to a small wooden dresser and across the room next to the bathroom was a metal desk with an office chair.

After I got a good look we went down the third hallway that led to Victor's office and the offices of the higher up's in the organization. He had us enter his office which was beautifully furnished with a massive wooden desk, a leather office chair, and 2 simpler chairs in front of the desk. The room had white and black marble floors with maroon walls that had bookshelves pushed up against them on 2 sides. There was a massive vault door on the back that took up a third of the back wall right in the middle of the room leaving room on each side for a table with a wide selection of alcohol and the other had glasses of all kinds.

Victor sat down in his plush chair and invited David and I to sit. I took my seat and Shadow jumped up into my lap. Victor opened up one of his drawers and pulled a map of the United States out.

He finally started explaining our job while unfolding it, "Recently our route through states in the western part of the country has been blocked by the police forces there who are actually doing their jobs and cracking down on our operations." ,He pointed to highways in the north and south on the map, "We usually use the major highways because it works everywhere else in the country. But out west they've started to figure out what cars we're using and the routes said cars take. The two drivers you guys are replacing were scared they'd get caught when they noticed a bit too many cops around. They tried to run off with the goods and make some money. We need a couple of new routes, probably more than just two but for right now we'll have to make do with just two safe routes."

"So you want us to find one?" ,David asked.

He nodded, "Why don't I give you some motivation?" We both looked at each other with equally confused stares, "Whoever can map out the safest, quickest, and most profitable route will get a hefty bonus. The other route will be used but obviously whoever mapped it out doesn't get the prize. How's that sound?"

I didn't speak up. To be honest I didn't like it. David spoke up for me, "Sounds good to me."

"Wonderful! Get some rest too, you guys have a lot of work ahead of you."

David got up and left immediately. I needed to ask Victor a question. I wanted to give the Audi some off road capabilities so I wouldn't have a problem with the terrain I thought we were going to have to go over, "Victor, you guys have an actual garage by chance? Where your guys can modify cars and stuff like that?"

Victor shouted with a smile plastered across his face, "Of course! Where would the fun be if I had to let my guys use stock cars!"

Exhaustion was getting the better of me and had completely consumed Shadow who was asleep in my lap. I needed to go home and grab the car so they could get working on it, "Could you have you're guys get my car around? I need to swap cars back at my house." ,I told Victor. My sentence ended with me yawning loudly.

"I'm not gonna let you drive back there right now. I don't want my driver falling asleep at the wheel and having to go through the process of finding _another_ driver willing to do this."

"Well… Willing is pretty loose definition right now, Victor."

He just shrugged his shoulders at my comment, "I'll get someone to grab your car. Which one do you need and what needs to be done to it?"

I explained to him that I needed the Audi and that I needed it to be able to go over the rough stuff. He made two phone calls which both ended in shouting, "Go to bed, kid. Can't have you sleeping all day tomorrow."

I carryed Shadow down to an empty room and flipped the sign to occupied. I closed the door softly and set Shadow down on the bed. I fell into the cool sheets and I was asleep in minutes.

I woke up the next day to an extremely obnoxious alarm. I slammed my hand down onto it to silence it and checked the time. 9 o'clock… _Shit, _I hadn't even gotten to bed before 4am; I was still unbelievably tired. Shadow slept through it all so I decided to leave him a note of where I was and let him sleep for now.

I secured a map of America and with the help of Google, a map of the off road trails in the deserts of the west. I wanted to try and find a way to bypass roads entirely so there wouldn't (hopefully) be any police intervention. I found my way to the garage which had a door that I was told led back to the main staging area for all the cars that were making runs. Work on the car was going good from what I was told. They had the car up on a lift and the wheels stacked up in the corner of the garage. They managed to put some small carbon fiber bolt on fender flares and I did notice they had taken all of the suspension out. I asked who at least I thought was the boss of the garage when he I could expect it to be done and he told me to check on it tomorrow. I thanked him and walked back towards my room.

I stopped by the dining hall to pick up breakfast for Shadow and I and met David while waiting for the food. I called him over to where I was sitting and we started to chat.

"So. How do you think you're gonna tackle this?" ,I asked him.

"The route thing?" ,He shook his head, "I'm not sure. He never said where we needed to go so I was thinking up through the backroads in the north and down to LA. I have no idea though, I don't even have a map. How about you?"

I sighed deeply, "I was thinking about going through the desert. Not exactly sure where, but it'll end in Vegas.

He nodded his head. I liked bouncing ideas off of him even if we were _competing. _It was nice to know how he was thinking. The food I ordered for us finally came and I said goodbye.

Shadow was kind of angry that I left him there but all of his anger was turned into happiness when I told him I brought breakfast.

He tore through his meal while I got to work on the project. I knew we would cross death valley so I drew a straight line across it; I'd figure out the more important route planning later but for now I needed a base to start with. I went back up to Michigan and started drawing lines down the major southbound highways into Ohio and Indiana. Victor said that the highway problem was only a problem in the west so I took full advantage of that. The route so far had us drive down to the western border of Kansas on highways. I had no idea what to do past that so I left it for now.

Shadow leaped up onto the wide desk and sat down on the corner with a concerned look on his face, "Why are we even doing this? This isn't right, Josh. I know you wanted to protect me but this wasn't a good outcome either."

I dropped my pencil and glared at him, "Shadow, you have no idea how little I want to be here doing this but right now I'd rather be making routes for criminals than mourning the murder of my friend or being dead myself." I stood up and paced around, "This whole thing's fucked. I wish I could find us a way out but right now there just isn't. We aren't even doing runs right now, we're just making routes. We'll be doing them eventually but for now we just need to relax. We've had three brushes with death in the last day, Shadow, the last _day. _Most people won't have a more than one in their whole life. I want it to end but as of right now we don't have much of a choice."

My body made a loud thump as I flopped down onto the bed and tried to get a hold of myself. Shadow jumped up on the bed and sat next to me.

I extended my hand and rubbed behind his ears, "I'm sorry, Shadow. I didn't mean to be a dick. I'm still trying to figure out what this all means for us."

"It's alright. I-I'm just worried about this whole thing."

"Trust me I feel the same way but right now we just need to get through this. We don't have much of a choice."

My phone rang and I answered it reluctantly, "Allo?"

"Josh? It's Victor."

"How'd you get my number, boss?"

"Not important right now. When you get the chance come on down to my office. I've got something for you."

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**Tomorrow chapter four's being posted! If you guys liked this feel free to leave a review!**


	4. New Additions

**Here is chapter 4! Leave a review if you enjoyed!**

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**Chapter 4: New Additions**

I left Shadow in the room again; he really didn't like Victor (Obviously). I knocked on Victor's door and waited. There was no answer so I just walked in. Victor was chilling out with his feet on his desk talking to a Lucario who was standing on the opposite side of him.

"Hey there he is! Have a seat, Josh."

I sat down and looked at the Lucario. It was short, probably only 4 feet tall. It was covered in a very clean azure fur with a tan patch on its torso that was very ruffled around it's small spike. It turned to face me and I got a good look at its right arm. It was missing the spike on its wrist and had scars that wrapped around its arm up to its elbow. It looked at me with an intimidating set of ruby eyes. It extended a paw, "Hi, my name's Fulvia." she had an extremely shy and equally feminine voice, that answered my next question.

I shook it, "Josh, it's nice meeting you."

She nodded, "Nice meeting you too."

I faced Victor and asked him, "You said you had something for me?"

"Yes, yes I do. I know that you'll need someone who knows the United States much better than you do if you want to make a successful route. I've already given David his help and now I'm giving you yours. You just introduced yourself to her. Fulvia has been helping us make routes for the past 4 years and now she's going to help you." He handed me a pokéball, "she's yours now. Treat her with respect."

I looked at Victor dumbfounded, "Really? You're giving me her? Okay then? Are you okay with this Fulvia? I'm not going to force you to be _my_ Pokémon."

She replied with more confidence than she had when she introduced herself, "Yeah, I don't have a problem with it. I'd be happy to help!"

I was still a bit confused, "So you'd be okay with helping me map stuff out?"

"That's my job around here."

"Okay then! Let me show you what I have so far." I motioned for her to follow me back to my room. I opened the door for Fulvia and Shadow finally woke up.

"Josh?" ,He asked.

"I already know what you're gonna say. This is Fulvia. Fulvia this is Shadow." She waved and Shadow said hello back, "She's a part of the mapping division or whatever they call it and she's going to help me out."

Shadow nodded his head and jumped up onto the desk we were now all crowded around. "So this is what I have so far," I explained to her, "I want to go across the Death Valley but I don't know any routes across it. I was hoping you might know some place where we could get around the mountains and things like that so we can use the flats to save time and prevent the police getting involved.

She studied the map, "I like where your head's going…" she stopped and continued looking, "But we only use roads. I don't know a lot about car trails and things like that. I'm sorry. The best way to get any info would be to just go out there."

Shadow knew where this was going, I could tell. But he kept quiet for now.

"That's exactly what I had planned actually. My car is in the shop right now being put together specifically for this."

Shadow spoke up, "Wait, what do you mean? Don't you have the Camaro? What car are you converting?"

"I did it to the Audi. I really didn't want to you know, i'll need a new daily, but I'll be out there for a while. I need a place to sleep and since it's a big car I'll just sleep in the back of it. Do you guys want to go with me?"

Shadow shook his head, "I would usually but you know how I feel about all of this."

"I understand buddy, I'll find you a place to stay while I'm gone. Fulvia?"

She looked up and thought about it for a second, "Sure, Josh. It'll be nice to get out of here for once."

"Okay, cool! It'll be nice to have some company. We'll leave tomorrow."

I called Caleb and basically begged him to look after Shadow while I was gone. He agreed and I told him when i'd be stopping by.

I told Fulvia, "Meet me here about 8am tomorrow and we'll get out of here."

She nodded and left the room. "Are you okay with this, Shadow?" ,I asked.

"I don't know anymore," Shadow sighed, "Just don't get yourself hurt okay?"

"Okay, Shadow. I promise." I gave him a rub on the back and went back to my map. In the few hours that I worked on it I had a good idea of what we were going to do and see but I wasn't 100% sure. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and went to bed feeling confident that this trip would be what I needed to finish the route and hopefully go home.

The next day I woke up to knocking on the door. It was Fulvia and I invited her inside. I took a shower and got ready for the trip, I'd have to stop by the house to pack some basic stuff that we'd need plus it'd be nice to see how everything's holding up. Once I reentered the main room Fulvia told me that someone came by and said the car was finished.

I was pretty excited, "Alright! Can't wait to see how it came out. After I get the keys we'll be all good to go."

I motioned them to follow me and I held the door open. The two Pokemon chatted until we got to the garage and when I stuck my head in the door I almost couldn't believe I was looking at the same car. The RS6 that I knew and loved was transformed into an even more amazing piece of machinery. The bolt on flares that I saw yesterday really helped the look of the car. It was lifted and had some pretty standard off road tires along with some very beefy black rims. On top there was a large roof rack with a few large jerry cans and a spare tire just in case. On the front there were 4 square lights partially hidden in the grill for better visibility during the night. To top it all off they installed a simple rollcage.

"So this what you were lookin' for?" ,the boss of the shop asked me.

I was amazed how good this looked and how well it was put together in the amount of time that they had, "It's amazing! How'd you do it?"

"We worked all last night putting on the final pieces, it was actually a lot easier. We didn't need to do anything with power, just the suspension and the cosmetic bits. For the record, we installed a device that lets the people on the ends of the tunnel you're one of us." ,He gave me 5 more of the little black boxes. I shook his hand and he gave me the keys. I jogged over to the newly modified Audi and everyone piled in after me. Fulvia got in the passenger seat and Shadow had the back seats all to himself when we left.

I was nervous coming down to the toll. I stared at the guy running it; his glare gave me chills as he lifted the gate. I powered out of there and into downtown Detroit. There was an awkward silence the entire time I drove back to Caleb's house in Jackson.

Shadow looked relieved when we got there and once I opened the door he bounded out before I even had a chance to undo my seatbelt. I laughed and followed him up to Caleb's front door where he was anxiously waiting for me to knock.

Caleb didn't give me the opportunity. He opened the door and said, "Hey man how are ya?" He reached down and started petting Shadow, "So I'm looking after him for how long again?"

I shook my head, "I'm not sure exactly right now, I'll let you know. Probably a week, maybe 2, I don't know."

He put his hand up, "Take all the time you need. I don't have a problem with the extra company." Caleb looked past me and to towards the Audi, "Dude did you really? I thought that was your daily. Is that the reason Shadow doesn't want to go?"

"Pretty much, you know he doesn't like off road stuff." ,I told him nervously, "Alright guys I'm gonna get out of here."

I knelt down next to Shadow and he put his front paws on my shoulders, "Don't get yourself hurt, Josh, I'm serious." He said quietly.

I pet him on his back, "I promise." After standing back up I started walking back to my car. I opened the door and took one more look back at the house where Shadow was still standing. I gave him a reassuring nod and he did the same. Once again the drive to my house was an awkwardly quiet one.

Once my house came into view she started questioning me, "This is your place?"

I nodded, "Yup, this is it."

"How?"

"I got lucky and won the lottery. I don't really deserve it to be honest but I'm not complaining."

She was still kind of shocked about this whole thing, "So if you had everything why did you give up so much to be a part of the Vipers of all things?

"You don't like them? I thought you worked for them."

She realized the corner she backed herself into and started quietly, "Victor saved my life. he helped me when I needed it the most and I've been helping him ever since. Still, he's a criminal, and a very powerful one at that. I wish I didn't have to work for him but I'd have nowhere else to go. So let me ask again, why did you want to work for him?"

I shook my head, "Trust me, I _**do not **_want to work for that douchebag."

"Then why are you?"

"I had to stop Victor from killing Shadow. If I would've waited he might've been fine and we wouldn't be here right now but I didn't want to take the chance. I fucked up and now we're here.

She shook her head and muttered to herself, "Fuckin typical."

We chatted some more as I packed the essentials and I had her follow me out to the garage where my laptop was still on the floor. I picked it up and was sad to see that the screen was cracked pretty bad on the right side but was still worked fine surprisingly. I looked back up and Fulvia was walking around putting the little black boxes I was given onto the cars.

She called out to me without looking back, "You ready?"

"Whenever you are."

She turned around and said nothing as we walked back to the car. I could tell her mood changed; before we got here she was still quiet but she was always looking out the window taking in her surroundings and enjoying the views. Now she just stared into her paws which were folded in her lap. I asked if she was alright and she said she was fine. I knew this was a lie and i'm almost for sure that Fulvia could tell that I knew that.

I turned the GPS on and settled in for the long haul to Kansas where our trip would actually start. Fulvia crawled to the back of the car and used her time to figure out clever routes on car trails for miles. She was back there for a lot of the 15 hours drive. We talked back and forth about what our plan was but really nothing more than that, she seemed distant.

I stopped at a gas station for the final fuel stop (hopefully) before our first leg of the trip was finished somewhere near the middle of Kansas. I opened the tailgate to check on Fulvia. She was lying there on her stomach working on the map; she looked very determined to find a good route. She was using my phone to search for routes in the desert and around here.

"Hey," she started without looking up, "We might have an issue."

Well shit, "What's up?"

She brought the map closer to me, "You see where we are now," she pointed to the map, "right at the border basically is when the cops get a bit of an upgrade. More patrols, faster cars, bigger numbers. They're looking for us, well not _us, _you get it. But the problem is there's not a lot of trails that go west up until Death Valley, but that's a ways away from here."

"So what you're saying is we have to use the roads?"

"Unless you can find a way through, yeah."

I grumbled to myself, I was exhausted and didn't want to deal with this shit right now, "Let's talk about this in the morning. It's getting late."

The gas was done pumping for a while now and I hopped back in to go find a place where we could sleep for the night. After a few minutes of searching I settled on a field just off of the road behind some shrubs. Not ideal but it didn't draw attention to us and I wouldn't get stuck trying to get out. I laid the back seats as flat as they would go and that gave us a ton of room to make a couple of makeshift beds and get a good rest for the night.

I woke up in the air. Everything was in slow motion and my mind tried to process what was happening. It's a shame that was interrupted by getting slammed back down in the back of the Audi. I swore and heard laughing in return

"Fulvia!?", I asked desperately. The terrain she was driving on was getting worse and worse and I was being thrown around like a rag doll. I had no idea how many times I hit my head in 30 seconds but it was enough to give me a migraine.

Fulvia was laughing her ass off as she drove. She tried to talk but nothing came out but more laughter. She stopped the car and I took a look at the field we were in. I could barely see over the field of what I thought was wheat

"Where are we?!" ,I asked the jackal.

She was still dying of laughter and she tried to calm herself down. She wiped the tears from her eyes and told me, "Well I found a route, kinda. I didn't want to wake you up so I drove."

My head was spinning, "So..uh.. What's the route?"

"Well what the plan is is to use as many back roads as possible until we get through Nebraska and then take trails in Colorado over the Continental Divide and then it's pretty simple from there."

"Where are we now?"

"We're in Colorado right now."

Once I managed to crawl back up into the front seat I got my head together and Fulvia started driving again.

"When did you wake up?" ,I asked.

"I don't know exactly. I woke up in the middle of the night and just worked on the map because I had the idea of going over the Divide. By the time I was done the sun was starting to rise and I was excited to get going and see if this would work, but you weren't awake. You left the keys in the car and I couldn't wait."

"I didn't even know you could drive to be honest."

"Well some cars are easier than others," She took her paws off the wheel, "It's not hard to drive with these but I don't like it very much."

"Did Victor teach you how?"

"Yeah, he wanted me to run drugs too but I didn't know that when I was being taught. It took a lot of arguing to let me just do the maps."

"Sounds like Victor," I sarcastically remarked.

I brought up something that was eating away at me for a while, "Is it okay if I ask you what happened to your arm?"

"Well," She took her right paw off the wheel again and took a glance at her scars. She looked to be thinking hard about it, "I guess I can… Basically before I got involved in all of this I was brought up with a guy called Andy. Andy was an okay guy, bit of a loner, but he had me. He was a massive petrol head, just like you, and named me after a car. The Lancia Fulvia. You probably know what that is, right?"

"Yeah, the one from the sixties. Did really well in rallies; I always thought your name was familiar too."

"I like it," she said, "rolls off the tongue pretty good. Anyways he drove a shitbox of a Honda and we were just going to go for a drive, which was something we did a lot. He fell asleep at the wheel and the car flew off of the road into a tree and tumbled down the hill the tree was on. Andy was probably dead as soon as we hit the tree, but I managed to get my arm caught in the window because the roof was so crushed. Victor saw the whole thing happen and he was the one who helped me out. The spike was almost torn out when I got my arm stuck and most of the scars were caused by broken glass and twisted metal. Victor took me to a doctor and here I am."

I felt really bad for her. First she loses someone she loves and then she gets recruited by Victor, life's shit. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's okay. Andy was a drug abusing fuckwit anyway. I had plans to run away from him; I didn't want to watch him destroy his life."

She turned off of the road and stopped at the mouth of a trail, "This is it," she said, "Take the wheel, I don't want to get us killed up here."

We swapped seats and I started driving up the increasingly steep and dangerous trail. The trail was filled with large rocks that stopped me from getting any real speed, progress was slow. The Audi handled everything much better than I expected it to; the suspension had enough travel and the car was high to get over the large rocks. The further and further we climbed the more and more snow covered the ground. It wasn't a large amount by any means because it was the middle of summer but it was enough to cover the trail. The two of us were working together to figure out what terrain I should drive over and if said terrain would get the car stuck.

The path that led down the mountain was insane. All of it was on the side of the mountain with extremely narrow switchback trails which led to steep drops if someone managed to drive off of it. Fulvia was tense and held onto whatever she could while I tried to stay focused on the rough terrain of the trail.

"I'm not sure Victor will like this." ,Fulvia remarked.

"Maybe he won't. But this is the best we've got.", I lost my focus. I hit one of the only big rocks on the trail and sent the car up onto two wheels. I panicked and flicked the steering wheel towards the hill to put the car back onto its wheels. Big mistake, I could feel the outside wheels begin to slip off and the weight of the car started to drag the rest of it down the hill.


	5. Complications

**This is probably the most chapters I've uploaded in a month since i've started to be honest. Anyways if you guys enjoy it make sure to leave a review. CRITICISM WANTED.**

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Chapter 5: Complications

Things weren't good. The car had slipped completely off of the road and I was now trying to power my way back up the steep slope. It was a tricky balance of trying to find the amount of throttle that would let me drive back up towards the top but not too much so the car wouldn't slip any further.

I got it wrong. Way wrong, the tires slipped into the loose surface and gravity did the rest. We slipped about halfway down the hill and the back right tire hit another rock. Thanks to the Audi's high center of gravity and my desperation to get out of there; the car started to flip.

Everything felt like it was in slow motion; our stuff was tumbling around in the backseat and Fulvia had a vice-like grip on her harness. I watched the terrain flip once as we fell and I got lost in thought, so this is it? I had a good run I guess. I passed out.

I heard someone saying my name. It took a while before I realized that I was being shaken and the voice's volume had increased to a shout. I opened my eyes and took a look around. Fulvia's voice was the one that I heard.

"Fuckin hell Josh. You scared me."

I was still coming to my senses, "You okay? What happened and why is it so dark in here?"

Fulvia was clearly annoyed, "Well you flipped the car. Good going there, but now we're stranded here."

This wasn't going to end well, "If we flip it back over it should still work fine."

I opened my door and reached for the release for my harness. As soon as I undid it I fell out of the seat and straight onto the roof of the car. Fulvia laughed at me, but I laughed at myself. I pushed on Fulvia's shoulders when she undid the belts so she didn't come crashing down like I did. She thanked me shyly and we got out to survey the damage.

The car was in relatively good shape for being on its roof. The roll cage did its job and the roof showed almost no signs of caving in but the body was pretty torn up. It wasn't smoking so I tried to give it a push. Surprisingly I got the car to rock and with Fulvia's help we got the car back onto its wheels in no time. I checked underneath and nothing was leaking and when I turned it back on everything sounded okay. Fulvia swore and commented on how bad the body looked. It was true, the car was fucked up. The sides were covered in dents and scratches, the hood was caved in, windows were smashed, the pillars were bent, and the roof was covered in dents but the car worked as it should.

We still had a long way to go down the mountain and even longer after that.

Fulvia asked me, "So what next?"

"What do you mean?" ,I was confused.

"After we finish this what comes after?"

"I don't know, Fulvia. We'll probably go back to the house and live a normal life. Maybe we'll do more of this."

"What about Shadow?"

"What about him?"

"He seemed distant back at home."

"He's not happy that I'm doing this. I'm not happy that I'm doing this just for the record."

"Trust me, Josh, the feelings mutual."

We finally got to the bottom of the mountain and I pulled over on the side of the trail. Fulvia climbed between the seats and looked furiously for the map under all of the stuff that got thrown around in the back.

"Finally!" she yelled, "I found it!"

"The map?"

"No, Josh, Pirate treasure." She said sarcastically.

I laughed, "Sorry! So what's next?"

She laid the map out and pointed at the desert on her map, "We'll sleep here for now and cross Death Valley at night."

"Why not just continue today?"

"It's just too hot. I'm a steel type, my body can't handle the heat now that the windows are broken."

"Fair enough. What now though? We still have a lot of time to kill."

"Jump back here and we'll figure something out."

I undid my belts and followed Fulvia to the back. Instead of sleeping I opened my laptop and started browsing Youtube. I pulled up Mighty Car Mods and caught up on the $3000 Turbo Car Challenge with Fulvia who surprisingly liked MCM more than I did.

She leaned back against the side of the car and talked to me, "How you feelin?"

"About what?"

"Ya know, this whole thing."

"Well I wish I wasn't out here for what I am; but, I'm glad I came. I'm also happy you came with me, I think you're great." I looked over and could see her blush through her thick fur, "It's nice to get away from it all for a while, you know?"

"I understand, Michigan's a bit boring."

"It is! I wouldn't live anywhere else but there's just nothing to do sometimes."

I pulled up a chess game on my laptop and let Fulvia have the first move. Fulvia asked me, "Do you think Victor's going to have us run the route?"

"I'll bet money on it, yeah."

She frowned, "Don't go." she said with desperation in her voice.

I was confused by this whole thing. I looked deep into her eyes and told her, "I don't want to do this, you know that. I don't have much of a choice. I'm sorry."

She said nothing as she tapped the screen a few times moving a rook towards my side of the board, "Check."

"Already? Wow i'm bad." we continued playing for a long time; I lost by a landslide. The game was played in silence, she seemed distant again. She looked lost and her normally confident smile was replaced with an indifferent look that showed no emotion. Her eyes, once full of life and always moving, were fixed to the screen and dead. I'm really worried about her.

"You okay, Fulvia?"

She nodded her head slowly, "mhm."

I looked out the smashed windows and the sun was starting to set, "Hey I'm gonna start getting everything ready." ,I told Fulvia.

"Okay I'll get up front."

I stepped out of the car, put a can of gas into my damaged car, and got ready to leave. Fulvia laid down on her back while I started the car and started driving. The mountains turned into desert flats in a while. The temperature also was starting to rise; I cranked up the A/C so Fulvia would be as comfortable as possible.

However, the smashed windows made it impossible for the car to cool down. The interior was slowly starting to heat up; Fulvia started panting in the back.

"You okay?" ,I asked

"Drive faster please."

"I'll take that as a no. Drink some water."

I heard a water bottle open and it being spilled everywhere. Fulvia drenched herself with the water in a last ditch effort to cool herself down. I was already going as fast as I felt comfortable on the dried lake beds of Death Valley, 70 or 80 miles per hour, but I put my foot down a bit more to hopefully make Las Vegas before dawn. Once the sun dipped below the horizon the temperature fell. I cut my speed nearly in half because the roll had managed to knock out 2 of my lights and the visibility was mediocre at best.

I was exhausted. I was struggling to keep my eyes focused on the desert that spread out before me; I needed to stop. So I did in the middle of the desert.

"W-Why'd you stop?"

"I'm gonna fall asleep at the wheel if I don't get some rest." I opened the back door and climbed into the back with Fulvia. She was shivering.

"You cold?" ,I asked her.

"Y-Yeah'" ,She shakily replied.

"Come here then," I extended an arm out which Fulvia eagerly fell into. I held the wet Lucario close by my side and tried to get some rest. Fulvia laid her head on my shoulder and I laid mine up against hers. I was basically asleep in seconds but in a few minutes I heard Fulvia ask me if I was still awake. I didn't answer. She sighed softly and I felt her lips touch my cheek. She moved away just as fast as it happened. I could feel my face heating up; it had to have been a deep shade of red. My mind flooded with new thoughts about what this meant; what she's trying to tell me. I tried to get it out of my head the best I could, but I had no luck. I fell asleep.

The next morning was an awkward one for me. The interactions between Fulvia and I were basically the same but my mind lingered on her kiss. This was all new to me; my mind put myself in tons of made up scenarios that made me more and more nervous even though none of it was real and probably never going to happen. It was incredibly hot outside and Fulvia was in the back drenching herself with water again. We aren't great with time management I guess. From what Fulvia was telling me Vegas wasn't more than 2 hours away.

The flats turned into mountains again but this time these were more suited to cars. Ten miles or so later I had to stop for fuel.

"You doing okay in there?" ,I asked Fulvia through the smashed window.

She was busy drenching herself in more water, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Do we have any water left?"

"Yeah."

"Could you toss me one?" ,the desert heat was starting to get to me. It was over 100 degrees outside and I was starting to sweat. I caught the water bottle that flew out of the window and started gulping it down.

Katie crawled over to the window, "So are we driving back home?"

"Do you think this is legal to drive on the roads?"

She stuck her head out and looked over the side of the car, "I mean," ,she started, "it's not too bad."

I laughed quietly, "We'll give it a shot."

Once the Audi had a full tank I climbed back in and continued the drive. For the first time in nearly 3 days I saw an asphalt road. I asked my cute navigator where I was supposed to be going. Wait… What? I got that out of my head but I missed what she said. She was annoyed that I wasn't listening but she repeated it. When the car finally touched pavement Fulvia and I both let out large, relaxed sighs. The harshness of the trails and desert had taken a number on my body; I was sore and exhausted. I relaxed in my seat for the first time in days and Fulvia was napping in the back with the laptop open beside her.

Today was going good; the only thing that could make it better was if the tires didn't make so much noise. Las Vegas finally came into view; I shouted for Fulvia to look. Her eyes snapped open and she hurriedly climbed into the front seat. By the look of wonder on her face Fulvia had never been in a place like this. Hotels lining the incredibly wide road with amazing architecture and tons of traffic everywhere you looked.

I pulled over in a parking lot for a decent sized hotel and gave Victor a call.

Victor answered the phone almost immediately, "Hello?"

"Victor, it's Josh."

"Nice to hear from you! How's everything working out over there? You and Fulvia getting along?"

Kind of weird that that was the first thing he was talking about, I shrugged it off, "Yeah everythings great right now. I think we hit it off pretty good."

"Good to hear! How's the route comin'?"

"We're in Vegas right now actually. Is there anything you need done while we're here?"

"Vegas? Is that where it ends? Okay, I'll get ahold of the guy I need you to meet there and we'll go from there. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

"Good!" ,He hung up.

"So?" ,Fulvia asked.

"Sounds like we're meeting some guy and then we'll go from there."

She nodded and pulled up some stuff on the laptop, "What're you working on?" ,I asked.

"Well that little black box on your car that we installed tracks whatever it's attached to. So using a program that we developed we can make gps routes using the data. This is what we use to make the routes back in Detroit."

"So if I fuck up… They know my every move?"

She laughed, "Josh. Just take it off; it's not hooked to anything!"

I laughed quietly, "Well how was I supposed to know that!"

My cell phone started buzzing in my pocket. I hastily pulled it out and answered it. Victor's voice boomed through the phone, "Here's the plan. I'm going to text you the address of the place; go there and make a deal with them so you can get back here. David's already finished his route just so you know. He might want you driving it with him. There anything I need to know about your route?"

"Round up around 10 bigger cars, you know, wagons, Jeeps, trucks, whatever and get them prepped for some extreme off road stuff. We'll also need extra gas along the way."

"Way ahead of you on that; we have places where you guys can stop for petrol. Did you say offroad?"

"Yeah, most of it after Nebraska is off road."

I heard grumbling through the phone, "Ok, I'll see you when you get back."

I thought this trip would take a lot longer than a week. Thought there would be tons of trial and error that led to frustratingly long days and nights. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Fulvia picked a fantastic, maybe a little dangerous, route that took us straight into the heart of Sin City. The time we spent together was some of the best I had all year. I'd made a friend for life; but I'd been thinking about being more than that one more than one occasion. Who knows if she felt the same.

The one thing that kept creeping back up into my mind was Shadow. I haven't had any contact with him in days. I felt really guilty; I just kind of dropped him like a bad habit. I got back on the phone and rang Caleb.

"Hey Josh how's it goin'?"

"It's alright right now man. How is everything holding up back home?"

"Good! Everything's been pretty normal."

"If you don't mind could you put Shadow on the phone?"

"Yeah of course let me get him" ,I heard him press a button on the phone and call out to Shadow. I could hear the faint noise of his claws on Caleb's floor. I heard a door close and Shadow started talking, "How's everything going out there, Josh? I haven't heard from you since you left! I miss you."

"I'm sorry, Shadow, I really am. I didn't mean to leave you hanging like this. We've been driving almost non stop for four days."

"I understand man, don't worry. So are you okay?"

"I am yeah. Can't say that about the Audi though; it's pretty much toast."

I heard him mutter something inaudible, "What the fuck did you do to it!"

"I may have rolled it part of the way down a mountain…"

He laughed, "You for real? Glad you're okay."

"Thanks, Shadow. We have the route done by the way; we'll be home in a few days."

"Okay! I'll be waiting!"

I hung up the phone and took a breath. Fulvia asked me, "That Shadow?"

"Yeah," I sighed, "He's doing good right now."

I checked my phone and saw that Victor texted me the adress. Fulvia set it as a GPS target and I pulled back into the ridiculous traffic of Las Vegas. We went from the strip, to downtown, and then into an industrial park. It was so much different than where we came from. There was no beautiful architecture, there was no traffic, only the bland and dirty factories that lined the streets. The only sound that we could hear was the low roar that the factories created.

The GPS told me to turn right down an alleyway. The spot was supposedly a couple hundred feet away but I didn't see anything that looked like an entrance. Fulvia told me to stop; I heard a mechanical noise and saw one of the loading dock doors open on one of the factories. I took a guess that that was it and drove towards it. I drove up the ramp and into the building.

Fulvia closed the laptop, "This is it."

There was a group of guys standing around that all turned to stare at me when I pulled in. They all dressed casually except one absurdly tall man who wore a suit. Most of them had guns on them. Some of his goons pointed at my poor car, others took photos, some laughed. I got out to greet the tall man.

His voice was gruff, "Are you Victor's guy?"

I stuttered, "Y-Yes. Yes I am."

"Really? I was expecting someone different?"

Here we go, "What do you mean by that?"

"Someone who knows how to drive first of all!" ,He said. His guys laughed. That hurt, but I wouldn't let it get to me.

"Well this is what you got. Now let's get this over with so we don't waste anymore of our time."

"I want 200 kilos. I need it as soon as you can get it to me."

"Consider it done." ,I turned around and left without a word.

I called Victor back. He asked me how it went, "This guy wants 200 kilos."

"Damn son. I'll get three cars prepped. I assume you want to use your own?"

"Yup, I'll get it to you as soon as I get home."

"Perfect." ,He hung up.

I was thinking about having the car shipped back and taking a plane back home but Fulvia was against it. So the next morning we began the drive back home. The drive would be at least 27 hours so Fulvia slept and I drove and vice versa.

The both of us were exhausted. The drive was long and very uncomfortable. It was early in the afternoon when I started recognizing where we were; finally we were home. I made a beeline for Caleb's house. I couldn't wait to see Shadow again. His house soon came into view and I dove into the driveway. The two of us got out and walked up to the door.

Once again Caleb beat me to the door, "Hey man how was it!"

"It was fun! Had a good time!" ,I told him happily. Of course I still had to lie.

Caleb took a look behind me and saw the Audi in its current state. He spoke low, "What'd you do to that thing, Josh?"

"Well I it rolled a couple of times. Still works though."

Before we could talk anymore I heard the familiar sound of claws on hardwood and only caught a glimpse of the black and yellow furball before he jumped on me. I caught him in my arms and fell backwards onto the grass.

We all laughed for a while. I pet Shadow, "So everything good now?" ,Shadow asked.

I was still laughing, "Yup, it's all done."

He looked up at the car, "Damn, you weren't kidding on the phone."

"Yeah it's pretty bad, isn't it."

He laid down,"You don't know how happy I am to see you, Josh."

I got up holding Shadow in my arms, "Trust me, I feel the same."

I thanked Caleb for taking care of Shadow and left. Fulvia and Shadow caught up and I drove back to my house.

I pulled the car into the big garage and called Victor, "Hey, can you get one of your guys to pick up the car. I really don't feel like driving out there."

"Sure. What car is it?"

"Massive blue Camaro, can't miss it. Keys will be in it too."

"Okay. Someone'll be there in a few.",He hung up with no goodbye for the third time.

Shadow was confused and spoke slowly, "What's happening to the Camaro?"

I froze up. I forgot to tell him that I was running the route too. Fulvia spoke up for me, "Well. We uh.." She spoke quickly, "Victor's making us run the route!" she put on an innocent smile and stood still in the middle of the garage.

Shadow's mood did a one eighty. His tail stopped wagging, his ears drooped, and his eyes became emotionless. "Why?" ,he said, "I thought you were done?"

"Not until we get this done…." I said quietly.

His sadness turned into anger, "What the fuck! Why, why are we the ones with shit luck! Why the hell do we get shafted all the fucking time!" ,he was pacing around the garage, "There's no fucking point to it! All of this shit isn't worth it if we're always knocking on heavens door!"

"Shadow. Everything's going to be fine."

He stopped pacing, "You promise?" His eyes were full of sadness and pain

I walked up to him and gave him a reassuring hug, "I promise, Shadow."

"C-can you guys just leave me alone for a bit. I'm really not happy right now."

I told Shadow that we'd be down at the house and we left without another word. Fulvia trailed behind me when we got to the house and I made a beeline for the living room. I took a seat in one of the chairs that faced the lake and thought about my fucked up life.


	6. Preparations

**Well guys I'm in a car on my way to St. Louis and I managed to bust out another chapter for you guys! I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 6: Preparations**

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Oh my life, my glorious life. First it starting out as a regular guy with no responsibilities, to a rich man who was living the dream, and now _this. _Working for one of the most dangerous criminals in the country making routes and now running life-ruining drugs across state lines. What was worse was the fact that Shadow was pissed off at me. We'd been through everything together and I wasn't sure if he'd take much more of this. I heard a V8 start in the distance; that was my car being taken away to be packed full of the stuff and then me being forced to run it to Las Vegas. I scowled and watched a bass jump out of the water.

Fulvia was behind me the entire time; she just watched over me with that scary set of eyes. I looked over at her and said nothing. However, she knew I needed help. She sat down on the arm of the chair and just watched the lake with me.

"What's on your mind?" ,Fulvia asked me.

"Too much to share."

"Is there anything I could do?"

There was so much she could help me with but it all came back to one thing, "Can you answer a question?"

"Of course!"

"In the desert, the night you were cold. You... " ,I didn't finish my sentence but Fulvia knew what I was talking about, "Why?"

She was clearly embarrassed. Her blush was once again visible through her fur and she replied shyly, "Oh, uhm. You were awake for that? I-I'm sorry if I overstepped my boundaries."

I asked again, "Why?"

Her blush got even deeper, "I-I care about you, Josh. You're one of the best things to ever happen to me! I just wanted to show you how happy I am to be with you…" ,Her voice trailed off.

I didn't have words for how happy I was when she said that. The feeling that the person (I guess Pokémon in this case) you have feelings for feels the same is just an amazing one. I got up from my chair and held out my arms for a hug. She eagerly fell into the embrace and she held on to me tightly. I enjoyed the feeling of her soft fur against my hands and the warmness of her body. All things must come to an end however and I backed off. I left my hands on her shoulders and stared deep into her eyes.

Fulvia started leaning closer to me. I was oblivious to what she wanted at first but it all clicked and I closed the distance without hesitation. Our lips touched and a warmth was spread throughout my body. I put my hand on her hip and pulled her closer to me. The kiss got more heated and passionate; her tongue brushed up against my lips and I let it explore before fighting it back with my own. Fulvia ended the kiss and tried to catch her breath.

"I love you." ,She said out of breath.

"I love you too." ,My mind was full of excitement and I couldn't believe that this was happening at all. This was all because of Victor in a way, maybe I'll thank him one day. Before we could go any further the mood was interrupted by scratching at the front door. I reluctantly left Fulvia and went to answer it.

Shadow was sitting patiently on the cement when I opened the door, "I'm sorry how I acted back there, Josh. I overreacted and lost sight of what mattered." ,He told me.

"It's okay, Shadow. I get where you're coming from. This was pretty big news for me too; it was big news for all of us really."

"So what comes after?"

That was a question that was on my mind from the start, "I wish I knew buddy." I gave him a reassuring pat on the back and followed him back inside. Shadow curled up into a ball in the living room basking in the afternoon light. I went into the kitchen with Fulvia and sat down at the counter. She stood across from me and took my hand into her paw. I did my best to intertwine my fingers with hers. My phone started to ring for the second time that afternoon.

Victor had decided to call me again, "Hey come down to the base when you get the chance." He told me in a commanding tone.

I rolled my eyes, "Yup, be there in a few hours."

Fulvia looked concerned, "That Victor?"

"Yup."

"What'd he need?"

"Wants me to go to the Gulag, (my nickname for HQ.)" I replied, "You want to come? Or was that a stupid question?"

"Stupid question." ,she giggled.

I let go of her hand and walked out to the living room. I knelt down next to Shadow and put my hand on his back.

He didn't open his eyes but Shadow groaned, "What's up?"

"Victor wants me in Detroit; you want to go with Fulvia and I?"

He still didn't move, "You kids have fun. I want a nap; plus, you wrecked the only four door."

I laughed, "I guess I did, didn't I."

I could see his smile. I got up and said goodbye. Fulvia was already waiting outside for me.

"Shadow comin'?" ,Fulvia asked.

"Nope, just you and me."

I jogged over to the garage with Fulvia close behind and grabbed the LFA keys eagerly. It wasn't everyday that I got to drive my favorite car since everything happened. Fulvia noticed my excitement.

She laughed, "What's the hurry?"

Instead of explaining I decided to show her. I showed her to the white Lexus and she looked unimpressed, "What's so important about it?" She asked.

"Cahm ahn. Just look at it! It's a masterpiece!"

"What am I looking at?" ,she said. For working with an organization so heavily focused around cars she really didn't know a lot. That would hopefully change the more time I spent with her.

"Better Idea, one second." I opened the door and sat in the luxurious leather interior. I stuck the key in the car and stuck my head out the window, "Listen."

Fulvia started to say something again but I interrupted her with the devilish noise of that V10. My hair stood on end listening to the F1 inspired music that was being played out of the exhaust. I revved it and watched as Fulvia's ears twitched and I saw the tiniest of smiles on her face. All of the hair on my body was already standing on end and I had goosebumps; but, listening to this ridiculous noise was like a drug addiction, you always need more of it.

Fulvia got on the car, "Point taken." I felt her arm and all of her fur was standing up on end. I drove sensibly out of the driveway and started setting up my GPS which involved talking to a very nice lady who set the best route and even warned me about traffic on the highway. After getting everything set up properly I buried my right foot into the carpet and I was thrown back into the seat. I revelled in the noise and speed of the powerful machine I was in control of. When driving for the fun of it I was a completely different person. I was loud, obnoxious, and always pushing things a little too much.

The car screamed down the fairly narrow road to the first corner. I slammed on the brakes, downshifted, and chucked it in. I feathered the throttle as the car took the corner like a champion and I floored it coming out. However the rubber couldn't put all 552 horses to the pavement and I could feel the back break loose again. I kept my foot in it and the car started to slide to the right, the back desperately trying to overtake the front. Once I got everything back under a decent amount of control there was an S bend basically right in front of us. I let off of the accelerator a bit and turned the wheel expertly, never letting go, as the car carried a massive amount of speed through the corners.

Fulvia was _not _happy with my display. She was desperately trying to grab onto something that wasn't me. She was almost constantly telling me to slow down but her cries were met with the demonic cries of the exhaust and tire squeal.

"Josh! Slow the _FUCK _down!" ,She shouted.

I laughed and watched a very mild, banked corner come into view. I laughed loudly and shouted back, "When in doubt, flat out!"

It was sketchy, I chucked it in with a bit too much lock and drifted the long sweeper totally on accident; but, I did go flat out. Fulvia was shouting at me and I was crying I was laughing so hard. It got so bad that I needed to slow down to posted speeds. She punched my arm and started laughing herself, at least she saw the funny side of it.

Not a whole bunch was talked about on the way to the Gulag and once we got there and parked I finally remembered how much I hated this place. We walked to Victor's office in a very awkward silence. I opened the door and I saw David for the first time in what felt like forever. His hair had grown a bit and he had managed to grow out a thick, but well groomed, beard. Next to him sat a small shiny Sylveon with its ribbons waving around

David stood up to greet me. He held his hand out and I gave him a firm handshake, "So how'd everything go?" ,He asked me.

"Better than expected to be honest. Fulvia drew up a fantastic route." I pointed behind me to the shy Lucario.

"That's who Victor gave you to help? Nice meeting you Fulvia."

"You too," she said quietly.

"So is that Sylveon the one who helped you out?"

"Yeah, he was a great help. Gavin! Come over here, I have someone I want you to meet."

The Sylveon jumped up and walked quickly to where I was standing. He put out one of his wide ribbons kind of like a handshake and I gently gave it a shake, "Name's Gavin. So you're Josh? David's told me some stuff about you." his accent sounded like he came from the midwest.

"Really?"

He shook his head, "No. Never heard of ya. Nice meeting you though!"

"Nice meeting you too."

Fulvia and Gavin were busy talking about something pertaining to maps, I don't know that's all I caught. Victor was looking in his drawer and he spoke to us, "So everything go well?" ,He asked.

We both said that everything went well.

"I know Josh's route ends in Vegas but I forgot to ask you where yours ends David."

"Los Angeles."

"High risk, high reward, right?"

"That's the plan."

"Well I didn't necessarily ask for that but I guess we'll figure out how it all works out." Victor said clearly annoyed.

"Let's get down to business. These routes need to be run and of course I want you guys running it with a small crew. That shouldn't be a problem; the only problem that we could have is if you guys manage to fuck it up. The pay is .1% of the sale for each runner."

"Well that seems like bullshit." ,I thought out loud.

"Sales for the routes should be up over 20 million dollars."

"Ah. Gotcha" ,Victor opened up his desk, pulled a Glock out of it, and pointed it at me.

I flinched but stayed still. Everyone was staring until Victor started laughing hysterically and tossed the pistol to me. I caught it by the business end and asked, "This thing loaded?"

"Why the fuck would I keep an _unloaded _pistol in my desk? Of course it's loaded!"

I made sure the safety was on (it wasn't) and sat the gun down on the desk, "Why?" ,I asked, "I'm not going to kill people for you, i'm just a runner."

"When shit goes down you'll thank me."

Well at least I'm not killing anybody. I owned a few guns for recreational shooting but I almost never carried one on me; I had no reason to. I picked the gun back up and put it in my pocket for now.

"You're probably wondering why I called you in, right?" ,I nodded, "Okay. First, I need a map of the route so we can put it on our GPS's. Second, go with David to the armory. There we'll give you a basic bullet proof vest, standard issue for our runners. And finally Josh you need to pick the cars that will be modified. I need 3."

"Okay, may I ask why? You said you had it covered when I was gone!"

"Me and the boss of the garage couldn't agree on 3 cars."

"Fuckin hell Victor. Do you have a catalog or something like that that I could look for something?"

"He pulled out a large binder from underneath his desk and dropped it down on the table."

I started flipping through the pages, "So how easy are these to get a hold of?"

"Just a phone call away really."

I sat down and set the book in my lap. I saw Fulvia give Victor a flash drive and I told her to grab some lunch or something because I'd be a while. It was all sorted out by manufacturer name with a massive number of cars in each section that were all sorted by model name with a picture and caption that had price, spec, miles, etc. The first place I looked was Lancia. Lancia is the best when it comes to rallying so naturally I looked there first. Lancia Delta S4 with the classic Martini livery. The Group B monster. I heard a rumor that those things could get up to a thousand horsepower if you ran over 70 pounds of boost through it. Reading the caption it said that it was supposedly Markku Alén's car during the 80's. Even if we didn't use it here I was definitely keeping this one.

I flipped around. Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, Dodge, Chevy. I never really found anything good. I went to Ford, they usually had good rally cars. I didn't want a truck, so no Raptor. What caught my eye and I mean, really, _really_ caught my eye was a white Ford RS200 Evolution. Another legendary Group B rally car, except this one was the street version. The Evolutions got a power increase to 600 horsepower, 600. The thing only weighs 2,300 pounds, it's insane. It's hard to believe that a 25 year old Ford is faster than an Enzo but it's the truth.

I figured that since all of the cars so far were Group B monsters I might as well see if I could get my hands on the original Group B monster. The one that showed the sport that all wheel drive was the future, the Audi Quattro. You have no idea how happy I was knowing that there was one in there. I wrote it all down on a piece of paper and handed it to Victor. He got on the phone and I left.

I got the bullet proof vest I needed and I found Fulvia in the cafeteria chatting with Gavin. She saw me and ended her conversation before standing up to greet me.

"We good to go?" ,She asked.

"Yeah, let's get the fuck out of here."

We got back to the car and I drove sensibly back to the house. It was a relaxing drive, no real destination, no job, just me and my new love. I held her paw as I drove; when I got on the throttle she squeezed it with all her might until I stopped.

"Are you going to tell Shadow?" ,She asked.

"About us?"

"Yeah, I don't think he'd be okay with it."

"Well lets just sleep on it tonight, okay? It'll all be ok." I gave the back of her paw a quick kiss and put it back down on the center console. Once we got home Shadow was still lying in the same place we left him; God damn did he love to sleep.

I swept Fulvia off of her feet and carried her bridal style to my room. She was giggling and I tossed her onto the bed softly. I followed her up onto the bed and Immediatly I dragged her into a passionate kiss. My tongue gained acess to her maw and I got my chance to explore. The inside of her mouth tasted like citrus, but I didn't get a chance to take it all in because she got bored rather fast and her rough tongue got to work battling mine back. I had my hands on her hips and she ended up straddling me while I leaned back up against the wall.

Once again Fulvia was the one who pulled away completely breathless, "You know," she panted, "I still need to show you how much you mean to me…"


	7. Down to Business

**Got another chapter up for you guys! Beta reading for IZ Techz IZ plus a bit of writer's block have kept me away from writing stuff for you guys and I feel a bit bad about it. Think of this as an apology for my absence. Anyways, if you have anything to say about the chapter be sure to leave a review or send me a PM!**

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**Chapter 7: Down to Business**

**POV Swap (third)**

The summer heat woke Josh up from an otherwise amazing sleep. He didn't handle the heat well, Fulvia handled it worse but she was still sleeping peacefully in Josh's embrace. He tried to free his arm from underneath the Lucario but it was well and truly stuck. He managed to wiggle his arm free without waking her. He found his way to the thermostat and cranked up the air conditioning. Josh heard the fan start outside and cool air started blasting through the vents. He let out a sigh of relief and headed back towards the bedroom. On his way, he spotted Shadow sleeping on the couch. He slipped into the bathroom to take a quick shower and make himself look presentable wherever he decided to go today.

When he hopped out of the shower Josh peeked his head in the door of the bedroom to check on Fulvia, she hadn't even moved. A grumbling that came from deep down in Josh's stomach drove him out to the kitchen to make some breakfast; Shadow had unsurprisingly beaten him to it. The Umbreon was busy munching on a piece of toast that he had made.

"Good morning!", Shadow said between bites of his breakfast.

"Morning. I'm gonna make some breakfast, you want some?"

"Come on Josh…", Shadow said very sarcastically, "That's a stupid question. What'cha making?"

Josh took a second to think about what delicacy he was going to attempt to make this morning, "I'll make pancakes."

Shadow was quick to agree and they began the process. In twenty minutes time, the pair had cranked out almost a dozen pancakes. Josh started cleaning up and noted to himself that Fulvia still hadn't woken up. Knowing she wouldn't be getting up anytime soon he grabbed a plate and loaded it up with food. He slid the bedroom door quietly and flicked on the lights. Almost immediately Fulvia let out a groan of annoyance that came from deep inside and rolled over onto her stomach. He sat down on the bed next to her and idly stroked one of her black dreadlocks. She picked herself up off of the bed and looked up at Josh with an, at least at first, annoyed look which turned into a smile when she caught the savory scent of the pancakes the Josh was holding.

"Good morning, hun. I made some breakfast", He told her. He set the plate on the bed and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Oh my God those smell amazing, thank you!", she beamed. Instead of picking up the fork and digging in Fulvia rolled out of bed and remarked, "Come on, let's eat in the kitchen." She gave Josh a kiss and walked out the door.

She took a stool at the counter next to where Shadow was already halfway done devouring his meal. Josh was surprised that he hadn't finished it yet. Josh took the stool next to her and he also began eating his breakfast.

Josh had a mouthful of food when the phone rang. He swallowed down the pancake as fast as he could so he could answer, "Yes?"

"Josh, it's Victor, How ya doin'?."

Josh was taken aback by Victor's kindness over the phone and he hesitated, "I-I'm good Victor, how are you?"

"Doin' great! Thanks for asking! Big news, Josh, we've got the cars all set up and ready to go! Get here at seven."

Josh was more pissed off at the fact that Victor had called him with this information at the last minute than what it actually meant to the group. The run started tonight, "Wait? Tonight? No warning at all, what the hell man!"

"Cahhm ahhn, you'll be fine as long as you show up!", and with that, he hung up in the way Josh had grown accustomed to. He set the phone down and he caught the gaze of a very upset looking Umbreon. Fulvia looked to be in a trance.

Josh realized that the two Pokémon could hear his conversation with Victor. He reached a hand out to pet the Umbreon and asked, "You alright, bud?"

Shadow took a deep breath, "I knew this was happening for what seems like forever now.", he didn't look at anyone. It was like he was talking to himself, "After a while of nothing I-I just accepted it as something that was going to happen _someday. _I put it in the back of my mind and did my best to keep it there. I could lose you, Josh… Forever. You don't have a choice, I know, just come back safe. That's all I'm asking…"

Josh pulled Shadow into a close embrace and held him there to try and comfort the now crying Pokémon, "I promise, Shadow, I promise."

Josh excused himself to ready everything he would need. Vest, holster, pistol, and a helmet that Fulvia could use. The helmet was naked carbon fiber with a glossy finish, open face, and had a semi-flexible mouthpiece to hold the microphone that came off of the right side of the helmet. It was the exact same style used by rally drivers in WRC. He had another, but it was Shadow's. It would never fit Fulvia's head, let alone his own. The more he thought about the run the more nervous he got. Josh could feel that familiar pit begin to form in his stomach, he needed some fresh air. Josh set the supplies down on the bed for now and went back out to the kitchen.

"Well why don't we go out and have a good time?", He called into the modern kitchen, "It's no use moping around on a day as beautiful as today!"

Shadow's ears perked up at the statement. He replied joyfully, "That sounds great!" He looked over to Fulvia, who still seemed preoccupied with something, and asked her, "You want to come with us?"

His question seemed to pull her out of the trance that she was in, "No…uh... You guys go have fun, I'll hang out here.", She told him slowly without looking up. The two didn't think twice about leaving. They jogged out to the garage and clambered into the LaFerrari. Josh hooked his phone up to the radio and started up a good playlist on Spotify while waiting for the car to come up to temperature. He sped down the driveway and took a second look back at the house. He saw Fulvia in the window; the couple made eye contact before she disappeared behind the curtains again. He turned out onto the road and felt guilty he hadn't made sure she was okay with being left behind.

He put the thought out of his mind and instead put all of his concentration into driving. His foot felt heavy as he pushed it down into the carpets. The brutal acceleration pushed him back into his seat and kept him there. The road he had chosen was one of the few freshly paved roads in the area and he took full advantage of it. He pitched it in the first left-hander at speeds no normal car could handle; the Ferrari made no complaints, the epic sound of the hybrid V12 motivating Josh to abuse it. The next corner was a banked, tight right. Josh lightly pushed the brakes with his left foot while his right came off of the throttle slightly. He downshifted using one of the carbon fiber paddles on the back of the steering wheel and put his right foot back to work. Josh could hear the tires squealing in pain as the Ferrari was catapulted around the corner but they held onto the asphalt. Inside the car any negative feelings were melting away more and more with each mile driven. Shadow and Josh both were laughing and having a good time. "Dude, that was slow as fuck!", Shadow teased over the roar of the engine.

Josh kept his eyes glued to the road but smiled and shot back a joking, "Fuck you!" He didn't take it personally because that's just how they are, but he was determined to terrify the fox. The road snaked around in the countryside for miles so Josh waited for the perfect moment to strike. Up ahead of him he spotted the next corner, a sweeping left turn. Instead of braking Josh downshifted and coasted up to the corner, he was still doing sixty, and he punched the gas in third gear while simultaneously chucking the car into the corner. The tires finally lost their battle with the nine hundred horsepower engine and began turning all of that face-bending power into a cloud of thick white smoke and noise. The engine was bouncing off the limiter and the rear of the car was fighting for grip that Josh wouldn't allow it to have. The car began rotating and Josh let the wheel flick back to center so he could counter the slide using skill that came out of nowhere. What was even better was that he kept the sliding hypercar in its own lane. They passed the apex of the corner and were greeted by a Volkswagen Golf going the other way that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Josh jumped in his seat and Shadow yelled in fear. "Maybe It's time to stop!", Shadow proposed out of breath.

Josh was still recovering from the heart attack that the Golf had given him and slowed down, he started laughing hard. In fact, they both did. "I got you so good!", Josh said regarding his success at scaring Shadow.

"You didn't do anything! That Golf came out of nowhere!", Shadow said in defense.

"That may be true, but that slide was masterful!"

"I'll give you that one. Cheeky cunt.", They laughed again. In the next few hours that passed they made small talk that destroyed any negative feelings the drive couldn't get rid of. They talked about everything they could think of, nothing was off limits. Josh even informed Shadow that he and Fulvia were in a relationship. Shadow was happy for his friend, It was his first true relationship. The topic of conversation never strayed towards the run, Josh's job, the consequences, nothing. Most of it was cars and things that involved them. The hours seemed to fly by.

Josh pulled up to a red light in Downtown Jackson and heard his phone ring. He dug it out of his pocket and answered, "Allo?"

"Hey, Josh it's Fulvia. Hope you guys are having a good time but you need to start thinking about getting back here.", Josh checked the car's clock, it was almost two thirty.

"Yup, be home soon. Love you."

"Love you too," she hung up and Josh explained the plan to Shadow. He had no problems with it, he almost seemed excited to be going to Caleb's. He pulled in the driveway to Caleb's house and got out to open the door for the Umbreon. Shadow jumped out of the car and straight into Josh's arms. Josh gave the Pokémon a reassuring squeeze and Shadow whispered straight into his ear, "Promise me you'll take care of yourself?"

"I promise…"

* * *

**3 hours later**

* * *

The metal door to the Gulag creaked open. Once the door was high enough for Josh and Fulvia to see what was behind it the couple were greeted with the headlights of a white RS200. Josh's excitement went through the roof as he pulled into the staging area. He drove around the group of rally cars, admiring each one as he passed. He parked the Lexus and power walked over to the cars, Fulvia had a hard time keeping up.

Josh snapped a few photos on his phone while Fulvia gravitated over to the proper rally car, the Delta. She took her time admiring the car; she opened the clamshell that held the engine and stood there in awe, unable to do anything except stare at the beautiful engineering.

She didn't look up when she asked, "So these had over four hundred horsepower back in the eighties, right?"

Josh was busy messing around inside the rally car, "Close to five hundred for competition, yup. I have no clue what the garage did to it though, hell, it may have close to a thousand right now."

"Damn," Josh heard her mutter under her breath.

"It's a shame," Fulvia stated, "that these are here and not in a museum or something. This is history."

Josh got out of the car and put a hand on Fulvia's shoulder, "I've got good news for you then. I bought them off of Victor; they do this one run and they go straight into the garage."

Fulvia's eyes lit up and an excited smile spread across her face. She couldn't think of words to say to Josh so she brought him into a deep embrace, "I love you.", She told him.

He rubbed her back, "I love you too."

Fulvia pulled herself out of the hug and asked, "You tell Shadow yet?"

Josh shook his head, "It'll be a surprise."

A hand fell on Josh's shoulder. He flinched and turned to see who was touching him. It was Victor, he had made it a habit to sneak up on him and his friends.

"Today's the day, Josh.", Victor said enthusiastically, "Time to go make some money!"

Josh laughed nervously and said in a low sarcastic tone, "Sure thing, boss."

"Before you guys leave David wanted a meeting with all the drivers; you know, strategy stuff."

"Lead the way," Victor took them down the hallway that led to his office and took the first door on his right. It was a conference room that he didn't even know existed. The crew that was assembled turned to see who had opened the door. The only person to not just look away uninterested was David. Gavin was with him too but he was napping on the ground next to him.

The first man, who sat closer to the door, was quite a stocky guy. He was an older man, Josh guessed he was in his late fifties. His face was wrinkled and mostly hidden by an unkempt, long, and white beard. Josh thought it was hilarious that the man was wearing a red 'Make America Great Again' hat, but he kept that thought to himself the best he could. The man had to be a few inches shorter than Josh and about a hundred pounds heavier. Josh thought that despite his size and age the man could probably kill him with his bare hands. The man next to him was almost the exact opposite, very tall, skinny, and Asian. He showed no emotion on his young face and just stared at the opposite wall. Josh had a sneaking suspicion that he was joining the B-Team.

Fulvia found a spot next to David and Josh took his place at the front of the conference room. Josh didn't really know where to start, he usually shied away from leadership roles and had no clue what he was supposed to say. He had no experience leading any formal team, let alone a crew of hardened criminals, (and David) "So what do you need to know from me right now?", Josh asked David.

"Just about everything. I have nothing to go off of. What's the route like, what's the plan, things like that."

Josh started with the route since that was what he had the greatest knowledge of, "So the route's fairly simple until we get into Colorado. We found a trail that spits us out a few miles from Death Valley. It can be pretty dangerous if you're not paying attention; trust me, I learned first hand.", His confidence grew as he continued talking, "Next thing, these cars aren't Victor's, they're mine. I don't care how they're treated when we're out there but don't crash, you'll owe me about a two hundred thousand.", The confidence that he had built up a second ago vanished as he tried to talk strategy, "Uhm… The route still has some bits that are in the_ 'danger zone' _I guess you could call it. We'll stick to the back roads and try to be as inconspicuous as we can be.", He stopped to think.

David piped up, "There's no way we're not getting attention. You, first of all, are driving the biggest and bluest thing you could think of and I'm driving an actual rally car. Is it even street legal?"

"I was able to register it for Josh. I'd assume that it is.", Victor added.

"You registered it for me? Is that legal?"

"I didn't have a problem."

Josh had an idea, "We'll use that to our advantage. They'll probably be more worried about whether or not that car was legal or not. These cars are way more expensive, rare, and different than what you guys usually use so we might not have a problem with the police

The older gentleman spoke up. His voice was gruff and southern, "Do you have a plan if the cops **do** get involved?"

"That's actually a bit complicated.", Josh noted, "I'll be honest, the cars I picked don't have great top speeds, especially David and I. The gears in David's car are short, very short. His top speed is only around a hundred and forty, maybe a hundred and fifty because of it. My cars limited to a hundred and thirty-five because I only have a three speed. Both of your cars, if they gave them some extra power…", He looked at Victor who nodded his head yes, "Then I would be surprised if the Ford and the Audi could get up to at least a hundred and seventy. Just run, use the terrain to your advantage and just outrun them. They _will not_ be able to drive that trail in standard road cars so If we're found out before the trail just get to it."

"What happens if they catch us in Death Valley?"

Josh hadn't gotten that far, "No idea, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. What do you want us to do once we're finished unloading, Victor?"

"Drive to the airport, I'll think of something."

"Okay then, any more questions?"

The group said nothing, "Alright then, let's get this over with."

Victor led the group back to the staging area. Josh went over to the Lexus to don his body armor under his shirt and attach the holster to his belt. He handed the helmet to Fulvia and they walked back to the car. Victor handed him a Bluetooth headset and told him it was his only communication with the other drivers.

In the time it took Josh and Fulvia to get ready, the rest of the crew had strapped themselves into their cars. Just as planned David took the Lancia, the older man had the Ford, and finally, the Asian had the Audi. Josh felt a little bad that he hadn't bothered to ask the names of the other two drivers, but he figured that this would be the last time he ever saw them. Victor hit a button right next to the garage door to open it. As soon as cars could fit out of the gap created the opening door the group started flying out of the tunnel, the run was on.

It was still light outside when the group exited the tunnel, but the light was fading fast. David and his powerful Lancia led the group as they figured out the best route out of the city. David set a quick pace for everyone to follow and everyone did their best to keep up. Josh was having issues with the heavy Camaro at first. The amount of body roll the car had was absolutely absurd; Fulvia had a feeling that the car was going to fall over at any minute. Josh trusted his machine and kept pushing.

David was setting a quick pace but they were basically driving in circles. No one really knew why they had let David lead in the first place. he had the least experience driving in Detroit and had the worst sense of direction. Josh was getting annoyed by the constant driving around with no progress being made, "Hey, Captain Slow," he teased over the radio, "You know where we're going?"

"Give me a minute!", He shouted back, "You're the only one with a GPS!" Josh couldn't fathom why they weren't given GPS's but this was his reality. Josh pulled off a convincing fake laugh and gave him directions to the nearest highway entrance. Fulvia hoped that everyone wasn't going to drive like idiots, but apparently she forgot who she was dealing with. As soon as they hit the ramp the three cars ahead of Josh took off like shots from a gun, leaving Josh to struggle to keep up. As he merged onto the highway he realized that mistakes were made. The drone coming from the exhaust and the tire noise put together was deafening. Josh never even put a bit of thought into noise when picking out a car for this, he even knew that it was this loud. He cursed his bad judgment. In the back of his mind Josh knew that if the noise was that loud for him, it was borderline painful for Fulvia. She folded her ears back and closed her eyes, trying to get her mind off of the abysmal noise.

Josh called out over the radio for everyone to calm it down. No protests were made and Josh watched the cars ahead of him fall into an orderly line. He caught up to the convoy and settled in for a long drive.

* * *

**18 hours later**

* * *

Nebraska was a thing of the past and the group was plowing its way through Northern Colorado without a hitch. In fact, Josh was starting to doubt Victor's stories about the cops being more vigilant. Josh and Fulvia had spotted several in the short time they'd been in the state and none had even given the group a second look. It put Josh's tired mind at ease. _'This isn't so bad.'_

More uneventful hours passed before Josh told the group to stop at the mouth of the trail. Everybody hopped out and gathered around the Lancia and David's map. Everybody was sipping on coffee or energy drinks to keep them awake and semi-alert. Josh downed the rest of his coffee before telling the group, "So we're here right now," he pointed in Western Colorado, "The trail spits us out a few miles from Death Valley," Josh reminded them, "Remember that this trail is _suuper_ dangerous. One mistake will probably mean your tumbling down the mountain, so please be a bit careful. I'm gonna lead for this, try your best to keep up without killing yourself… We all good?"

The group all gave their approval to the plan and retreated back to their cars. Fulvia opened the door and started climbing into the Camaro before Josh stopped her. He told her to wait for a second and began feeling around for helmet that he stashed behind the passenger seat. Josh didn't take long to find what he was looking for and presented it to Fulvia, "Here," he said, "Put this on."

She took it in her hands and said to Josh as she slipped it on, "You're that worried about this? I mean, is it necessary? Are you going to be fine without it?"

Josh caressed her face and reassured her, "Trust me, Fulvia, I'm a lot more worried about you than me right now.", He flashed her a smile, "I'd much rather hurt myself here than you.

She smiled warmly and hugged him, "That's why I love you."

Josh laughed and helped her strap up the helmet. It wasn't a perfect fit by any means, it was a bit big for her, but it would work for now. He also did up her belts to make sure she wouldn't go anywhere when the trail got rough. He strapped himself in and told the group over the radio to get moving.

Josh didn't waste any time leaving the group in his dust and he wasn't waiting for them either. The Camaro, unsurprisingly, was handling the rocks and dips in the trail like they weren't there. In the cabin the uncomfortable drive to Colorado was forgotten by the Camaro's ability to absorb the bumps, making the jolt in the cabin negligible. Josh had no idea where the group was, nor did he care. The Camaro crested the summit and began the treacherous descent to Death Valley. For the first time in hours, Josh took it easy. Instead of dodging rocks like he would in the now ruined Audi, Josh drove over the obstacles. Fulvia pointed out the exact rock that sent the Audi to its death and laughed. Josh drove right over it. His confidence grew once he was past the spot and he sped back up. A few miles of driving later the switchbacks stopped and the terrain started to level out, they made it. Josh noticed the temperature in the car slowly rising and he smiled knowing that he was closing in on Death Valley.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know if you guys are enjoying the new format because I'm probably going to continue to use it, I had fun writing this way. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for new chapters!**


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